Welcome to Low Data-Rate Communications Over Power Lines Project
Overview
This project is the design and implementation of a PLC (Power Line Communication) system. The objective of this system is to allow remote monitoring of electric appliances from any other outlet on the same grid. The system will have multiple transceivers that plug into the wall outlet and the appliance then plugs into the transceiver.
The transceiver will monitor the current and voltage at the appliance. The transceiver will also transmit power factor information of the appliance with the voltage and current to give an accurate representation of chargeable power usage.
One transceiver will have a serial interface to send the data to a PC. The data will be received in the PC and output a text file showing the current power consumption of each remote transceiver. Each device will have a unique I.D. so that the user can distinguish between appliances.
The overall design is to have a voltage sensor and current sensor which transmit an analog signal to a microcontroller. The microcontroller will be separate from the PLC modem. The controller will convert the analog signal of each sensor into a digital value with an ADC. The controller will pass thee values to the PLC modem which will then take this value and transmit the data to the power line via a circuit containing a transformer.
Physical properties of the device are such that a cord will plug into the wall similar to a power strip, and enter the device box which will have an outlet for the appliance to plug into.
System Requirements
Develop a system that uses multiple transmitters and can detect power used at each transmitter.
Implement an addressing system to distinguish among different transceivers.
Build a final production grade system.
Demonstrate the operation using real appliances in a real world situation.
Peter Hanslits can be reached at hanslitp@onid.orst.edu
Austin Adams can be reached at adamsaus@onid.orst.edu
John Bailey can be reached at bailjohn@onid.orst.edu
Project Mentor is Tim Marr
Project Sponsor is Dr. Kartikeya Mayaram
1 Project Overview
2 Needs Identification and Background Research
3 System Requirements and Desired Features
4 Design Solutions
5 Top Level Block Design
5.1 Power Supply
5.2 Microcontroller
5.3 PLC Modem
5.4 Microcontroller Code
5.5 PC Code
5.6 Case Model
5.7 Current Sense
5.8 Voltage Sense
6 Testing
6.1 Completed Tests
7 Project Timeline
8 Budget
9 Expo Materials
References
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